A Bill to Create a Completely Public Healthcare System In the United States

Ellie Woehl, representative of Maryland

Be it enacted by congress that the current healthcare system in the United States is completely
publicized.

Section 1:

Whereas according to several studies from across the political spectrum, universal healthcare
would reduce the country’s total healthcare expenditure by trillions of dollars over the next
decade by getting rid of inflation and inefficiencies such as, private insurance, claims approval,
payment systems, and record keeping. (scrubsmag.com 10/29/19);

Whereas the United States already spends more on healthcare than any other country in the
world. U.S. healthcare spending grew 3.9% in 2017 reaching $3.5 trillion ($10,739 per person)
(scrubsmag.com 10/29/19);

Whereas healthcare spending accounted for 17.9% of the country’s gross domestic product
(GDP) (scrubsmag.com 10/29/19)

Whereas if individuals and families were guaranteed healthcare under the law, they may be more
inclined to schedule regular appointments with doctors, get a primary care physician, and take
medications they need without worry of inflated cost, this in turn would lower the amount of
emergencies which cost even more money. (scrubsmag.com 10/29/19);

Whereas 28.5 million people in the united states (8.8% of the population) do not have health
insurance (procon.org 2/14/19);

Whereas 37.7% of americans WITH health insurance have government provided coverage
through medicaid and medicare (procon.org 2/14/19);

Whereas the U.S. is the only nation among the 36 OECD (Organization for Economic Co-
operation and Development) nations that does not have the universal health care either in
practice or by constitutional right (procon.org 2/14/19);

Whereas total public and private health care spending could be lowered by up to $1.8 trillion
over the next 10 years due to lowered administrative and prescription drug costs. (procon.org
2/14/19);

Whereas according to a study from Harvard researchers, "lack of health insurance is associated
with as many as 44,789 deaths per year," which translates into a 40% increased risk of death
among the uninsured. (procon.org 2/14/19);

Whereas according to an Institute of Medicine report, the US economy loses $65-$130 billion
annually as a result of diminished worker productivity, due to poor health and premature deaths,
among the uninsured. (procon.org 2/14/19)
Section 2:

Political spectrum- A political spectrum is a system to characterize and classify different political
positions in relation to one another upon one or more geometric axes that represent independent
political dimensions.
Expenditure- the amount of money spent
Inflation- a situation of rising prices in the economy.
Inefficient- not achieving maximum productivity; wasting or failing to make the best use of time
or resources.
Gross Domestic Product- the total value of goods produced and services provided in a country
during one year.
Medicare- a national health insurance program in the United States, begun in 1966 under the
Social Security Administration
Medicaid- a federal and state program that helps with medical costs for some people with limited
income and resources.
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development- an intergovernmental economic
organisation with 36 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and
world trade.

Section 3:

Health care will be provided to all U.S. citizens and will be funded by a small increase on taxes,
depending on the total yearly income of the individual.

The term “healthcare” was not yet made when the constitution was written, once this law is
passed, mention of “healthcare” will be added into article 1, section 8 of the constitution.

A news alert will be put out across the United States illustrating the addition to article 1, section
8

Section 4:

The amendment will become law and all healthcare will become completely public to any United
States citizen.

Universal health care will reduce inflated costs in the U.S. and patients will be more likely to
seek medications and regular check ups with their primary care physician. This will reduce the
number of medical emergencies that create patient debt.

Universal healthcare has statistically proven to boost the economy in other countries who have
public health care systems.

Without universal health care prices will inflate and many debts will continue to go unpaid.
Section 5:

The universal health care system will be funded primarily by Medicare, which is funded partly
by a 2% Medicare levy (with exceptions for low-income earners) any shortfall being met by the
government from general revenue

Section 6:

The amendment will become a law and all health care will become completely public within 90
days of it being passed, this will allow for adjustments to be made and insurance companies to
contact clients and sort out healthy care history with the new system.